Chrysalis Day Nursery & Pre-School

Chrysalis Day Nursery & Pre- School 3 Church Hill, LOUGHTON, Essex, IG10 1QP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/01/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children's learning and development needs are well supported, and the quality of the teaching is good.  Staff have high expectations for the children in their care and are skilled at providing activities that support each individual child's needs.  The effective key person system helps children to form secure attachments and promotes their well-being and independence.  Healthy eating is promoted very well throughout the nursery. This includes the provision of freshly cooked food at mealtimes and a variety of fresh fruit at snack times.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although, the vast majority of practice is based on secure observation, assessment and planning procedures, this can be inconsistent for some age groups. This does not ensure that staff always have a sharply focussed awareness of all children's learning and development needs.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the baby room, toddler rooms, pre-school rooms and garden.  The inspector spoke with the manager, proprietor and members of staff.  The inspector took account of parents' views by speaking to them on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's progress records, policies and all relevant documentation.

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Information about the setting

Chrysalis Day Nursery & Pre-School was registered in August 2012 on the Early Years Register, and operates from converted premises in Loughton, Essex. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm, all year round. Children have access to large, open play spaces situated on the ground and first floor and a secure, enclosed outside play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 14 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications, including the manager. There are currently 60 children attending, who are in the early years age group, for a variety of sessions. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children, who speak English as an additional language and those with special needs and/or disabilities. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 enhance observation, assessment and planning of activities, to ensure that throughout the nursery, activities are planned that continuously reflect a sharply focussed awareness of children's learning needs.

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who attend

Children's learning and development needs are well supported, and the quality of the teaching is good. Staff have high expectations for the children in their care and are skilled at providing activities that support each individual child's needs. Staff monitor children's learning through regular observation and assessment. Planning for children's progress is shared with parents on admission, by the completion of 'All about me' booklets that detail children's care and development needs. Ongoing parental contribution is encouraged, by the use of contact books between the nursery and home, regular key person discussions and parent meetings, which supports children's development over time. Staff identify individual children's next steps of learning, using the guidance document, 'Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage', and these are discussed and agreed with parents. Children's interests are taken into account and used to plan appealing activities

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who attend

Staff create learning journals for the children, which show through photographs, observations and examples of their work, how they are progressing individually. However, the learning journals are up-dated inconsistently in different parts of the nursery, and do not always demonstrate the otherwise sharp focus on planning and how this links to the next steps in children's development. This means that for some children, their learning is not always underpinned by a secure knowledge of their learning needs. Staff work very well as a team, they support each other and have a secure knowledge of how children learn through play.

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who attend

Children with special needs and/or disabilities are well supported in the setting as their key person liaises closely with parents and other professionals, such as health visitors and speech and language therapists. Children, who speak English as an additional language are progressing well as their key person works in partnership with parents to ensure that their home language is acknowledged, by use of common words and phrases, while promoting the use of English. There are also French classes for pre-school children.

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who attend

The indoor and outside spaces are well planned to give children room to negotiate all the interesting activities and resources that are arranged at child height. This helps children to select resources that interest them and this promotes independence. Activities are mainly child-led, with transitional activities, such as singing or stories, which lead to adult-initiated activities, snack or lunchtimes. This helps children to understand when it is time to finish one activity and begin something new. Children are prepared well for school as they are taught the literacy and numeracy skills, which they will need. For example, children's names are printed on colourful butterflies, which they choose and stick onto a large flower picture on the wall. Children are helped to recognise the letters in their names by the use of phonics. They recognise that their name begins with the same letter as that of another

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills are promoted effectively as staff use open- ended questions and engage them in conversation. They listen intently and eagerly participate as a staff member reads a story with enthusiasm and energy, exciting them with questions such as 'what do you think happens next?'. Children listen with interest as she explains what a chimney sweep does and what happens to the soot. Children's personal, social and emotional development is fostered as they play together with dough, pretending it is ice cream and saying that they are cooking it in the toy oven. They argue over a container for the dough until a staff member produces another container and helps them to resolve their own conflict. Children enjoy imaginative play as they pretend to be princesses in their frilly dresses and play shoes. They thoroughly enjoy exploring creativity as they mix paint with water to flick onto the paper, making colourful patterns. Children

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who attend

receive praise for this, which boosts their self-esteem, as they smile with pleasure at their achievements.

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who attend

Heuristic play resources, treasure baskets and sensory toys are provided to engage the natural curiosity of babies to develop awareness of shape, colour, sound, weight and texture. They learn about the outside world as they are taken to the library for rhyme time and singing. Older children learn about the world as they plant bulbs in the garden and watch them as they peep through the earth and grow. They enjoy feeding the guinea pigs and learning how to care for them. Children are becoming stronger as they run around the large outdoor area equipped with wheeled toys and other interesting equipment in the creative zone.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The effective key person system helps children to form secure attachments and promotes their well-being and independence. Children's behaviour shows that they feel happy and safe in the nursery. Babies are learning to settle into the nursery environment with gentle support and encouragement from their key person, who understands their need for close contact and comfort at this time. Staff are very kind and have a genuine affection for the children.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

There is a stimulating, well-resourced environment, both inside and outdoors. All children are given frequent opportunities to play outside in the fresh air at all times of the year. They are taken out for walks, wearing high visibility jackets for safety. Children are physically active in all areas of the nursery, with weekly yoga sessions being a favourite with them all, teaching them cooperation, and helping them to relax and strengthen their muscles.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are taught to manage their own personal care and they wash their hands frequently, for example, after using the toilet, playing in the garden, using messy resources and before eating food. Therefore, they are learning about good hygiene routines. Staff take great care to ensure that all children are protected, and their health and medical needs are fully supported, through the clear policies and procedures for recognition and management of allergies and food intolerances. All children have laminated placemats bearing their photograph, and they are colour coded with specific details of individual dietary needs. The nursery chef caters well for children with food intolerances by incorporating tolerated ingredients into individual meals without changing the appearance, so that no child feels left out. Healthy eating is promoted by the provision of freshly cooked food at mealtimes from a varied menu, and fruit at snack times.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are safe in the nursery. All visitors sign in and out and security is high with a locked gate and entry door. No person can enter the premises unannounced. Parents are welcomed into the nursery at anytime, which helps to make the children feel secure and contented. Children are emotionally prepared for transitions as staff use an emotions poster to help them to become aware of feelings and facial expressions. They are taken out into the community to learn about the world and become familiar with different environments, which supports transitions to different settings or school. Children receive praise and affirmation for all their achievements. Also staff are keen to show their pleasure at children's achievements, which enhances their feelings of self-esteem and self-worth.

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provision

Staff have a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and understand how young children learn. The leadership of the setting is good because management and staff are motivated and have high aspirations. The staff and management are committed to the continuous evaluation and improvement of their practice and good systems are in place to monitor and assess the quality of the provision. Planning and assessment processes are monitored, and although, this is inconsistent through different parts of the nursery, management are aware and training for all staff forms part of the very thorough improvement plan developed from self-evaluation. There is a clear drive for improvement, which is demonstrated by the very detailed actions identified. Parents' opinions have been sought through questionnaires, forums and meetings. Staff feedback has also been sought in the form of a questionnaire. Children's interests are taken into consideration when

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provision

planning and they are continually asked what they would like to do next. Children are highly motivated and eager to learn.

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provision

Systems are in place to begin the progress check at age two years in partnership with the parents and health visitors. Effective systems are in place for safeguarding children to ensure their welfare is protected. Clear management responsibilities in relation to child protection have been established. This includes having named designated persons responsible for ensuring that the correct safeguarding procedures are followed, if there is a concern. Documentation for the safe and efficient management of the nursery is in place. This includes the nursery's policies and procedures, which practitioners ensure are implemented consistently and shared appropriately. Risk assessments take place daily and any hazards identified are immediately removed. Children's safety is paramount to the nursery. Safeguarding information is evident on all the walls of the nursery and policies and procedures are available in the foyer for parents to peruse.

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provision

Rigorous recruitment systems are in place to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. There are clear induction procedures and probationary appraisals. All staff receive regular support through team and group meetings and regular appraisals from management.

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provision

Parents give glowing reports of the nursery and the staff, and have extremely positive views about their children's development and progress. There are regular parents meetings, so they can come in to view their children's learning journey records and talk to staff about their progress. They also know that they are welcome at the nursery at anytime to speak to the key persons if they have any concerns or want to know anything about their child's development. The management structure is very strong and supports the staff team well. There is a strong culture of self-reflection that supports the nursery staff in their continued professional development. Staff are encouraged to identify their training needs, and appropriate training is made available.

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provision

The nursery work in close partnership with other agencies, including health visitors, speech therapists, childminders and the local authority, and children with special needs and/or disabilities and their parents, receive the support they need.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY445564 Local authority Essex Inspection number 809237

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 54 Number of children on roll 60 Name of provider Chrysalis Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 0208 502 4666 set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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